B.  r   i 


United  Slates  Department  of  Agriculture, 

BUREAU  OF  PLANT  INDUSTRY— Circular  No.  19. 

B.  T.  GALLOWAY,  Chief  of  Bu'eau. 


THE  DECA1  OF  FLORIDA  ORANGES  Wl 

ON  THE  MARKET 

By  I  1  1'iwk.  Pomologist,  assisted  bj  G.  W  .  Hosford, 

and  II.  M.  Whiti     -  Assistant,  Field  Investigations  1 


ILI-:  l\   I'RANSITAX: 


INTRODUCTION. 

Since  the  season  of  1906  7  an  investigation  of  the  causes  of 
decay  in  oranges  shipped  from  Florida  has  been  carried  on  by  the 
Bureau  of  Planl  Industry.  Since  1904  a  similar  investigation  has 
been  in  progress  in  California,  where  it  has  been  found  that  the  decay 
is  caused  principally  l>\  improper  methods  of  handling  the  fruit  in 
the  groves  and  packing  houses.  The  results  of  the  California  inves- 
tigations have  been  published  in  Bulletin  123  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant 
[ndustry,  entitled  "The  Deca}  of  Oranges  while  in  Transit  from 
California,"  l>\  G.  Harold  Powell,  Pomologist  in  Charge  of  Fruit 
Transportation  and  Storage  Investigation-,  and  associates. 

EXTENT  OE  LOSS  FROM  DECAY  IN  FLORIDA  ORANGES. 

During  a  cool,  dry  period  many  Florida  oranges  reach  the  market 

in  g I  condition,  but   when  the  weather  is  warm  and   moist,  cars  of 

fruit  arrive  showing  sometimes  as  much  as  30  per  cent  or  more  of 
decay.  A  conservative  estimate  of  the  total  loss  from  decay  in 
Florida  oranges  would  be  $500,000  annually.  There  is  an  even 
greater  injury  to  the  reputation  of  Florida  oranges  because  of  the 
Large  amount  of  decaj  that  develops  after  the  fruit  reaches  the  hands 
of  the  wholesale  dealer  or  the  retailer.  Probably  nothing  has  more 
to  do  with  the  low  price  of  Florida  oranges  at  any  time  than  the 
fact  that  the  buyers  can  not  depend  on  the  fruit  keeping  sufficiently 
long  to  be  retailed. 

ummarizes  certain  phases  of  the  experimental   investigation 
the  handling  of  Florida  oranges  thai  nave  been  under  way  during  the  last  two  seasons. 
This  work  covers  one  feature  of  th<                 study  of  fruil  marketing,  transportation, 
and  -i                thods  thai  has  been  in  progress  in  our  field  investigations  in  pon 
since  the  organization  of  this   Bureau.     While  longer  continuance  of  the   Florida 
work  i                    before  final  conclu              n  be  formulated,  certain  results  obtained 
Bignificanl    and  so  consistent   with  the  results  of  similar  work  in  California 
whi  li  I i.i-  bei  ii  prosecuted  for  a  much  longer  time  that  their  economic  importance  is 
believed  to  justify  immediate  publication.     While  numerous  details  of  grove,  packing- 
house,  and   tnu               m    treatment    require   further  attention,    the    fundamental 
importance  of  the  careful  handling  of  thefmii  dnrin":ill  the  harvesting  and  marketing 
ions  ie  emphasized  by  the  results  of  there  e\|)eruu^t^^B1Fjri-|fi<u.Lo\vAY, 
d  Pathologist,  a  Bureau.        | yVVVM^NT^Dpr 


60249— Cir.  19— OS 


U.S.  DEPOSITORY 


2  DECAY    OF    FLORIDA   ORANGES    WHILE   TN    TRANSIT,   ETC. 

CAUSE  OF  DECAY  IN  ORANGES. 

The  common  decay  in  oranges  is  caused  by  the  growth  of  a  minute 
form  of  plant  life  within  the  tissue  of  the  fruit.  The  most  common 
fungi  causing  orange  decay  are  species  of  Penicillium.  These  fungi 
are  spread  by  spores  which  do  not  seem  to  have  the  power  of  entering 
an  orange  having  a  normal  uninjured  skin.  The  first  requisite  for 
decay,  therefore,  is  a  bruised  or  broken  skin.  Whenever  such  an 
injury  has  occurred  and  the  spores  are  present  the  fruit  will  decay  if 
the  moisture  and  temperature  conditions  are  favorable  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fungus.  Like  most  other  forms  of  plant  life,  these  fungi 
grow  best  in  a  warm,  moist  atmosphere.  If  the  weather  is  cold  or  very 
thy,  even  injured  fruit  on  which  the  spores  are  present  may  not  decay. 

The  experimental  work  has  been  planned  with  this  understanding 
of  the  cause  of  decay  in  mind.  The  work  was  divided  into  three  gen- 
eral lines,  as  follows:  (1)  A  determination  of  the  amount  of  injury  in 
the  fruit  caused  by  handling  the  oranges  in  the  groves  and  packing 
houses,  the  long  stems  left  by  the  pickers  in  severing  the  fruit  from  the 
branches  being  also  counted,  since  the  number  of  these  determines  to 
some  extent  the  amount  of  injury  produced  in  the  subsequent  han- 
dling of  the  fruit;  (2)  packing-house  experiments  in  which  fruit 
handled  in  different  ways  was  packed  and  held  in  the  house  for  two 
weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  percentage  of  decay  in  the  differ- 
ent lots  was  determined;  and  (3)  shipping  experiments  and  market 
tests,  in  which  the  fruit  handled  under  different  conditions  in  the 
groves  and  packing  houses  was  shipped  by  the  regular  transportation 
methods  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  held  there  in  a  fruit-storage 
room,  the.  decay  being  determined  on  arrival  and  at  the  end  of  each 
succeeding  week. 

INJURIES    AND    LONG    STEMS. 

Punctures  in  the  skin  of  the  orange  are  the  most  common  injury. 
These  are  made  with  the  clippers  when  the  fruit  is  severed  from  the 
branches.  The  amount  of  injury  depends  on  the  individual  picker. 
Many  pickers  do  not  injure  more  than  one  or  two  oranges  in  a  hun- 
dred; otherscul  as  many  as  25  per  cent.  During  the  season  of  1906-7 
onhy  a  limited  number  of  oranges  were  examined,  hut  of  t hese  .">.7  per 
cent  had  been  cut  with  the  clippers  and  6.7  percent  had  been  injured 
by  other  means,  as  by  the  branches  of  the  trees  through  which  they 
had  been  pulled,  by  splinters  from  the  field  crates,  by  twigs  or  dirt  in 
the  bottom  of  the  boxes,  or  by  cuts  made  with  the  linger  nails  of  the 
pickers  or  packers.  About  7  per  cent  of  the  oranges  had  stems  suffi- 
ciently long  to  injure  ot  her  fruit. 

During  the  season  of  1907  8  the  percentage  of  injured  fruit  was 
found  to  be  even  greater.  The  following  table  gives  detailed  informa- 
tion as  to  the  amount  of  injury  and  the  number  of  long  stems  in 
oranges  picked  by  one  gang  of  laborers: 

[fir.    L9] 


DE(    U    "l     FLORIDA    ORANGES    WHILE    IN     [TRANSIT,    ETC. 


Table  1      Percentage  of  injured  fruit  ami  fruit  with  long  stems  found  in  th 

handled  by  eight  pic) 


\  1 
slgni 

picker. 

Injuries  by 
clipper  cut- 
ting. 

r  in- 
juries. 

Total  injii- 
Loiik  stems,     rles  and 
long  stems. 

4 



6 



Per  i 

0.8 
8.  1 

7.2 
2.  o 

15.  9 

r<r  cent. 
6.  l 

a  7 

fir  cm        Peri 
n.  I 

12.7              42.2 
11.  1               24.4 
25.0 

42.  I 
vii              150 

25  8 

\ '. 

til 

9.6 

Picker  No.  8  had  also  pulled  16  per  cent  of  the  fruit  from  the  trees 
instead  of  cul  ting  it  off. 

The  amount  of  injury  in  picking  the  orange  is  ool  necessaril}  con- 
aected  with  the  rapidity  of  the  work  done  by  the  pickers.  A  .slow 
picker  ma\  injure  as  manj  oranges  as  a  rapid  worker,  and  neither 
ma\  know  thai  he  is  injuring  the  fruit  with  the  clippers.  The  follow- 
ing data  regarding  the  work  of  a  gang  consisting  of  a  picking  foreman 
and  i  bree  picker-  who  were  paid  by  the  box  illust  rate  this  fact : 

Table   II.     Percentagi  ed  <      t  and  fruit  with  long  stems  found  in  tht  urn 

picked  by  slow  and  by  rapid  worh 


Kind  of  worker. 


Slow  picker 

ilcker 

Fasl  picker 

Do 

it..v     elected  from  fruit  In  packing  ] 


Injuries  I. y      otherl_ 

clipper  cut-       ,  ':,  '       Longstems. 


ting. 


2i  4 

11.0 

10.7 

13.  2 


juries. 


0.0 
1.11 
2.4 
n.  3 

!,.  II 


9  6 

5.5 
4.0 
7.4 


Total  inju- 
ries and 
longstems. 


I'ir  a  nt. 

3a  o 

20.  5 

17.  1 
16.9 


These  tables  shov  the  extenl  of  damage  that  may  be  done  in 
handling  the  fruit  in  the  groves  in  Florida. 

PACKING-HOUSE  EXPERIMENTS. 

Fruit  handled  in  the  following  ways  was  packed  and  held  two 
week-  in  the  packing  houses  in  Florida  and  was  then  examined  for 
decay:  (1)  Carefully  picked  fruit,  all  injured  oranges  being  taken 
out  and  the  fruit  graded  and  sized  by  hand;  (2)  carefully  picked 
fruit,  all  injured  oranges  being  taken  out  and  the  fruit  graded  and 
sized  by  machinery  in  the  usual  way:  (3)  carefully  picket!  fruit,  all 
injured  oranges  being  taken  out  and  the  fruit  graded' and  sized  1>\ 
hand,  but  jusl  previous  to  packing  each  orange  was  dropped  L8  to  20 
inches  to  the  Boor  or  the  bottom  of  a  field  crate;  (4)  fruit  picked. 
packed,  and  graded  in  the  usual  commercial  waj  ;  (5)  fruit  consisting 
of  oranges  showing  some  mechanical  injury. 

The  experiment-  which  included  these  five  methods  of  handling 
fruit,  the  different  kits  for  each  experiment  being  .-elected  from  the 

[fir.   19] 


4  DECAY    OF    FLORIDA   ORANGES   WHILE   IN    TRANSIT,   ETC. 

fruit  of  the  same  grove,  were  made  in  nine  packing  houses  in  different 
localities  in  the  orange  section  of  the  State  during  the  season  of 
1907-8.  In  every  experiment ,  the  sound,  carefully  handled  fruit  that 
was  graded  and  sized  by  hand  showed  the  least  decay  at  the  end  of 
two  weeks.  The  decay  in  the  fruit  which  was  carefully  picked  but 
graded  by  machinery  varied  much.  In  one  experiment  the  carefully 
handled  fruit  showed  1.1  per  cent  of  decay,  while  a  similar  lot  which 
was  handled  by  machinery  contained  18.4  per  cent  of  decay.  In 
another  test  where  the  hopper  was  unusually  large  and  steep  and  the 
machinery  of  the  oldest  type  the  decay  was  36.7  percent.  The  average 
loss  for  the  season  of  1907-8  for  all  fruit  which  passed  through  the  ma- 
chinery but  was  carefully  handled  in  picking  was  20.3  per  cent,  in 
comparison  with  2.1  per  cent  for  similar  lots  graded  and  sized  by  hand. 

The  experiments  in  which  the  oranges  were  dropped  were  made 
in  order  to  determine  what  proportion  of  the  decay  was  caused  by 
dropping  the  fruit  into  the  picking  basket  or  field  crate,  by  dumping 
it  into  the  hopper,  or  by  any  fall  which  the  fruit  might  have  in  being 
delivered  from  the  sizer  to  the  bins.  A  distance  of  18  to  20  inches 
was  selected  for  the  drop,  since  it  was  possible  to  see  large  quan- 
tities of  fruit  dropped  that  distance  or  farther  in  its  commercial 
handling.  During  the  season  of  1906-7,  the  decay  from  dropping 
seemed  to  be  greater  than  in  1907-8.  The  average  loss  for  the  first 
season  was  20.1  per  cent,  while  for  the  past  season  it  was  10  per  cent. 

The  boxes  designated  "commercially  packed  oranges"  were 
selected  from  the  packed  boxes  in  the  house  as  the  cars  were  being 
loaded,  care  being  taken  to  select  fruit  from  the  groves  from  which 
the  other  experimental  boxes  had  been  secured.  The  average  decay 
in  1006-7  for  the  commercially  packed  fruit  was  22.9  per  cent;  in 
1907-8  the  loss  was  18.2  per  cent. 

Each  of  the  mechanically  injured  oranges  was  selected  because  it 
showed  some  kind  of  a  puncture  or  abrasion  of  the  skin.  The  me- 
chanically injured  fruit  after  being  packed  for  two  weeks  developed 
48.7  per  cent  of  decay  in  1906-7;  in  1907-8  the  loss  was  35.4  percent. 

'I'lie  following  table  summarizes  the  percentage  of  decay  found  for  the 
last  two  seasons  in  the  fruit  held  for  two  weeks  in  the  packinghouses: 

Table  III. — Average  percentagi  of  decay  in  oranges  handled  in  various  ways  and  held 
in  packing  houses  for  two  weeks. 

L906  7.  Percent. 

Sound  oranges  graded  by  hand 2.  9 

( (ranges  dropped  from  is  to  20  inches 20.  I 

I  i  immercially  packed  oranges 22.  9 

Mechanically  injured  oranges 48.  7 

1907  8.  Percent. 

Sound  oranges  mailed  by  hand - *-.  1 

Sound  oranges  graded  by  machinery 20.  3 

Oranges  dropped  from  is  to  20  inches 10.  0 

( iommercially  packed  oranges 18.  2 

Mechanically  injured  oranges 35.  4 

[Cir.   19] 


\Y    OF    FLORIDA    ORANGES    WHILE    IN     I  RANSIT,    ETC.  5 

SHIPPING    EXPERIMENTS    AND    MARKET   TESTS. 

During  the  season  of  L  907-8  fourteen  shipments  of  oranges  handled 
in  a  wa\  similar  to  the  oranges  in  the  packing-house  experiments 
were  shipped  to  Washington  and  there  held  under  market  conditions, 
the  amount  of  decay  being  determined  on  arrival  and  at  the  end  of 
each  succeeding  week.  As  the  weather  was  cool  during  the  shipping 
season  nearly  all  of  the  lots  except  the  injured  fruit  reached  Washing- 
ton in  fair  condition.  The  sound  fruit  graded  by  hand  showed  the 
least  decay.  At  the  end  of  the  first  week  in  storage,  the  sound, 
carefully  handled  fruit  remained  in  excellent  condition,  while  all 
other  lots  began  to  show  considerable  decay.  The  commercially 
packed  oranges,  which  contained  less  than  I  per  cent  of  decaj  on 
arrival  in  Washington;  developed  more  than  10  per  cent  at  the  end 
n(  one  week.  At  the  end  of  the  second  week,  the  carefully  handled 
fruit  was  --till  in  prime  condition,  with  L5  per  cent  of  loss,  while  all 
the  other  lots  were  badly  <\<-<-;r 

The  follow  iie.'  table  gives  a  summary  of  the  shipping  experiments 
of  L907  8,  the  amount  of  decaj  whenthefruit  arrived  in  Washington 
and  at  the  end  of  the  first  and  the  second  weeks  in  storage  being 
specified: 

Table   IV.—Percentagi  of  decay  on  arrival  in   Washington  and  after  oiu   week  and 
weeks  in  oranges  handled  in  different  nays. 


Charai  ter  ol  oranges  shipped. 


Decay  after 

arrival.        01  I 


led  bj  hand 
Sound  orangi  ■•  machinery. . 

rom  18  to  20  inches. 

inges 

Mechanically  Injured  oranges 


Ptr  cent. 
0  l 
1.1 

20.  2 


Fir  ant. 
1.9 

5.  1 

6.  0 
10.6 


two  weeks. 


rirant. 
15 
12,  4 
10.  9 

• 


Table  IV  shows  that  the  Florida  orange  has  good  keeping  quality 
when  the  handling  has  been  sufficiently  careful.     On  the  other  hand, 

it    is    apparent     that    careless    handling    prepares    the    wa\     for    decay, 

either  while  the  fruit  is  in  transit  or  after  it  has  reached  the  market . 

The  presenl  methods  of  harvesting  citrus  fruits  in  many  cases  in 
Florida  are  extremely  rough,  and  a  premium  i>  placed  on  the  quantit} 
rather  than  on  the  quality  of  work  done.  This  is  due  to  the  class  of 
labor  employed,  to  a  de-ire  on  the  part  of  the  packer  to  reduce  the  cost 
to  the  lowesl  possible  figure,  and  to  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  value 
of  careful  handling. 

Table  V  shows  thai  it  is  possible,  even  with  the  presenl  labor,  to 
lessen  materially  the  amount  of  injury  done  in  picking  the  fruit.  The 
oranges  showing  clipper  cuttings  or  other  injuries  or  bearing  long 
stems  were  counted  on  December  I  and  6,  before  am  educational  work 
had  been  done  among  the  picker-.     In  two  weeks  another  examination 

[Clr.   10] 


6 


DECAY    OF    FLORIDA    ORANGES    WHILE    IN    TRANSIT,    ETC. 


of  the  fruit  was  made,  and  after  ten  days  still  another.  Meantime, 
each  picker  was  shown  how  much  damage  was  being  done  and  was 
told  what  effect  this  injury  had  upon  the  keeping  quality  of  the  fruit. 
Within  the  three  weeks  specified  the  amount  of  clipper  cutting  was 
reduced  to  one-seventh  and  the  total  injury  and  number  of  long  stems 
to  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  former  amounts. 


Fig.  1.— An  interior  view  of  a  packing  house  in  Florida,  showing  the  large  hopper  used  for  delivering 

oranges  to  the  sizing  machine. 

'Table  V. —  Percentage  oforangt  s  showing  mechanical  injuries  and  long  stems  pickt  <l  by  the 
same  gang  before  and  after  instruction  as  to  care  in  handling. 


Date  i  r  inspect  ion. 

Injury  by 
clipper 
cutting. 

Total  in- 
juries and 
long  steins. 

l  »ate  of  inspection. 

Injury  l>y 
clipper 

rutting. 

Total  in- 
juries and 

long  stems. 

Pir  a  ill 
7.4 
5.  6 

Pi  r  ci  nl. 
18 
22 

I  lecember  17' 

P(X  Ci  lit 

2.3 
1.0 

I, 

|)e<  ember  27'' 

4 

»  Before  instruction. 


b   Ulcr  Inst! ' 


There  is  much  opportunity  for  Improvement  in  the  handling  of 
the  fruit  in  the  packing  houses  also.  The  use  of  any  kind  of  hopper 
is  a  source  of  much  injury  oil  account  of  the  dumping  of  the  fruit  from 
the  held  crate.  The  large  hopper  used  extensively  in  Florida  tends 
to  increase  this  injury.  (See  fig.  1.)  It  is  probable  that  the  hopper 
can  l>e  eliminated  entirely  and  the  fruit  delivered  to  the  sizing  machine1 
on  carrying  belts.     Many  such  arrangements  have  been  in  operation  in 

[Cir.   10] 


M'.rW    OF    FLORIDA    ORANGES    WHILE    IN    TRANSIT,    I  t 

California  for  the  last  two  seasons  and  are  giving  excellent  sal  isfaction. 
(See  fig.  2.) 

Many  of  the  conditions  in  California  in  1905,  when  the  investigation 
was  undertaken  there  by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  were  much 
like-  those  in  Florida.  During  the  course  of  the  investigation,  main 
changes  favoring  more  careful  handling  of  the  fruit,  both  in  the  groves 
and  in  the  packing  houses,  have  been  made.     The  following  descrip- 


2.     Interior  view  <>i  ;i  packing  house  in  California,  showi  ry  used  in  preparing 

;es  (or  ship 

tion  given  in  the  bulletin  already  referred  toa  shows  what  successful 
re-ults  have  followed: 

The  fruit 
under  the  last  series*"  was  grown  and  packed  l>v  a  corporation  owning  several 

"  Bulletin  No.  L23o£thi  f  Plant  Industry,  entitled  "The  Decay  of  Oi 

while  in  Transit  fro  l  18 

b  Pen  ■  lilions  andshi\ 

(*<  r  n  nlilat  I ' 


shipment. 


hipment 


Fehruai 
M 

19] 


1.3 

1.8 

1.0 

2.7 

1.7 

8  DECAY    OF    FLORIDA   ORANGES    WHILE    IN    TRANSIT,    ETC. 

hundred  acres  of  groves  and  packing  its  own  fruit.  When  the  presenl  investigation 
of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  was  undertaken  in  1905,  the  fruit  from  this  house 
sometimes  arrived  in  market  showing  from  5  to  30  per  cent  of  decay.  The  handling 
of  the  fruit  was  done  with  the  average  care  used  in  preparing  the  fruit  for  market  at 
that  time.  An  investigation  showed  that  20  to  -'■>  per  cent  of  the  oranges  were  cut  with 
the  clippers  or  were  stem  punctured,  and  that  the  packing  bouse,  which  was  equipped 
with  overhead  sizers,  contributed  to  the  further  injury  of  the  fruit.  In  1906  and  in 
1907  the  fruit  was  picked  with  care.  The  labor  in  the  groves  is  paid  by  the  day.  It 
is  under  the  management  of  a  competent  foreman.  As  a  rule  the  orange  as  cut  from 
the  tree  has  a  long  stem,  and  a  second  cut  removes  the  stem  close  to  the  fruit.  The 
pickers  avern ire  from  10  to  50  boxes  a  day,  and  the  clipper  cutting  and  stem  puncturing 
have  been  reduced  to  from  1  to  3  per  cent.  The  loading  and  the  hauling  of  the  boxes 
to  the  packing  house  are  done  with  care.  Gravel  is  kept  out  of  the  boxes  and  they  are 
not  filled  full  enough  to  bruise  the  oranges  on  the  top  when  the  boxes  are  stacked. 
The  packing  house  is  handled  by  a  skillful  foreman.  The  oranges  are  not  brushed. 
The  machinery  is  of  the  simplest  kind  and  is  run  at  comparatively  low  speed.  The 
packing  and  the  loading  of  the  cars  are  done  with  care.  The  packers  average  from 
50  to  60  boxes  a  day.  The  fruit  has  been  shipped  under  ventilation  until  about  two 
months  after  most  of  the  shipments  from  southern  California  have  begun  to  be  for- 
warded under  ice. 

From  the  business  standpoint  this  fruit  took  high  rank  in  the  market  as  soon  as 
careful  handling  methods  were  adopted  in  1906,  and  it  has  held  it  ever  since.  In 
addition  to  a  good  pack,  it  has  commanded  the  confidence  of  buyers  on  account  of 
arriving  in  sound  condition  day  after  day.  The  excess  in  net  return  has  been  many 
times  greater  than  the  extra  cost  of  careful  handling.  The  extra  cost  of  handling  the 
fruit  carefully  has  probably  not  amounted  to  10  cents  a  box. 

What  has  been  accomplished  here  can  be  duplicated,  so  far  as  the  sound  arrival  of 
the  fruit  is  concerned,  by  any  other  shipper  in  California  who  will  preserve  the  natural 
keeping  quality  of  the  frail,  by  handling  it  carefully  in  the  grove  and  packing  house 
rather  than  attempting  to  handle  the  shipments  at  the  lowest  possible  cost  under 
conditions  that  make  the  fruit  susceptible  to  decay. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  experimental  work  indicates  that  what  has  been  accomplished 
in  California  may  be  duplicated  in  Florida.  The  decay  of  oranges 
is  closely  connected  with  rough  methods  of  handling  the  fruit. 
Careful  methods  result  in  good  keeping  quality.  Rough  and  care- 
less work  should  be  expected  to  cause  decay,  and  the  experiments 
show  that  this  is  true. 

Approved: 

James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Washington,  D.  C,  October  22,  1908. 

[Cir.  VJl 

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